20200622-03b: Austin Police Department — original pdf

Recommendation

COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission Recommendation Number (20200622-03b): The Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission recommends that the City Manager have leadership of the Austin Police Department that represents of the anti racist values that the community, City Council, and our City of Austin Leadership expects. WHEREAS, it is the value of the City of Austin to be an inclusive city for all of its citizens including those of diverse racial, ethnic, religious, and national origin backgrounds; WHEREAS, the City of Austin and the Asian American Quality of Life Commission had called for an adequate response from the Austin Police Department following the both the shootings of Mauris DeSilva and Mike Ramos; WHEREAS, our Commission has growing concerns over the ability of the Austin Police Department to keep our communities of color safe; WHEREAS, the last five officer shootings resulting in death have been on people of color; WHEREAS, the Austin Police Department are the highest paid police department in the State of Texas; WHEREAS, it is the responsibility of the leadership of the Austin Police Department to make all communities in Austin feel safe and respected; WHEREAS, The Austin Police Department currently has a budget of approximately $440 million dollars; and WHEREAS, this Commission does not believe that the current Austin Police Department spending reflects the needs of the community; WHEREAS, the Commission is supportive of moving funds from the Austin Police Department into proactive community support measures including mental health resources, victims’ services, family violence resources, and educational opportunities; WHEREAS, communities of color in Austin have historically been overlooked in the city budget and often compete for the same, limited sources of funding; WHEREAS, on April 17, 2020 City Manager Spencer Cronk released the results of an investigation conducted by Tatum Law that found that there were issues surrounding equity, fairness, and fear of retaliation within the Austin Police Department;  WHEREAS, On June 11, 2020, Austin City Council approved RESOLUTION NO. 20200611- 095 which put a ban on chokeholds or strangleholds, officers shooting at moving vehicles, and the use of tear gas and impact munitions on people exercising their First Amendment rights. It also limits no-knock warrants, and the use of facial recognition technology by police, requires de-escalation tactics in all circumstances, and delays the July APD cadet class until the training curriculum is overhauled; WHEREAS, On June 11, 2020, Austin City Council approved RESOLUTION NO. 20200611- 050, which set a goal of zero racial disparity in traffic stops, zero racial disparity in arrests and citations that result from traffic stops, zero use-of-force incidents, and zero deaths at the hands of APD officers; WHEREAS, RESOLUTION NO. 20200611-096 approved on June 11, 2020 by City Council, states that “more than two dozen community leaders presented a letter to City Council demanding that the leadership at the top of our city's public safety system be replaced with individuals who support and are willing to enact the reforms passed by City Council; and WHEREAS, the elected members of City Council have no confidence that current Austin Police Department leadership intends to implement the policy and culture changes required to end the disproportionate impact of police violence on Black Americans, Latinx Americans, other nonwhite ethnic communities, and returning and low-income residents”; and WHEREAS, Austin has a real opportunity to start the process to bring real equitable changes into Austin; and WHEREAS, the Asian American Quality of Life Advisory Commission’s purpose is to advise the City of Austin on Asian American quality of life; NOW, THEREFORE: BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ASIAN AMERICAN QUALITY OF LIFE ADVISORY COMMISION: which all of Austin City Council has lost faith in current leadership, we encourage the Austin Police Department to implement the real equitable changes that Austin needs and deserves, and be in monthly communication with the Quality of Life commissions about these changes; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: The Asian American Quality of Life Commission strongly encourages and endorses the efforts by the City of Austin to move $100 million dollars of Austin Police Department funding into funding community resources; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: In accordance with City Council Item 96 on the June 11, 2020 City Council Agenda, in The Austin Police Department leadership should be in alignment with the goal of making this a more just and fair city. Thus, the City Manager must be vigilant about making sure that all police leadership is vetted to the fullest extent possible to highlight any concerns regarding racism, sexism, homophobia, or transphobia. Furthermore, if our Chief of Police is not meeting the needs of making Austin a more just and fair city, we fully support the demotion of him and replacing him with leadership that shares the values of our city. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED: That if the City of Austin decides to pursue new police leadership, the process must be transparent, include community input, engage the Office of Police Oversight and the Equity Office. Ultimately, the APD Chief should regularly invest in ongoing training such as Undoing Racism or Beyond Diversity, and must make every effort to truly understand the needs of all Austin residents. Date of Approval: June 22, 2020 Record of the vote: Moved by Commissioner Saxena, Seconded by Commissioner Yoshida. In Favor: (Commissioners Cobalis, Sethi, Yoshida, Radhakrishnan, Saxena, Hang, Chao, and DasGupta) Abstain: (Commissioner Chen, Stanton, Patel) Absent: (Commissioner Conte, Wang, Patil, and Yang) Attest: